The Forgotten Apprentice
by whirlwind144
Summary: Aella left a dark secret behind, but now our three favorite ranger's want to find this person with the secret.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I done't own Ranger's Apprentice :(**

 **Thanks to the awesome WritersBlock-is-Lazyness for his/her help with cleaning my story up!**

* * *

Prologue

She woke up to somebody walking around her. She slowly opened her eyes expecting to see a bandit. Instead, she saw the back of a mottled gray and green cloak facing her. She groaned as her leg was moved. The figure in front of her turned around.

"Oh good your awake, I need to set your arm and leg." She quickly place d the voice as being male. Seeing the worry in her eyes, he added, "Don't worry- I'm a Ranger. I know what I'm doing."

"Where am I?" the girl asked.

"You don't remember?" The Ranger looked curious, if a bit confused. "You're in Redmond."

"Where is Redmount?"

"In Araulen" he said as he grabbed two fairly good-sized branches and gingerly cut off her boot. "I need to pull your leg back in place, so I need you to grab on something to keep yourself from sliding."

She nodded and held onto the nearest sapling with her uninjured arm.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded as he slowly and carefully positioned his hands around you leg to get a better grip.

"I'm going to do it on three," the Ranger informed her. She nodded her acknowledgment as he counted to said number. She screamed as he pushed the bone back into place, and once more as he pushed her arm back into place."

Then she blacked out.

* * *

A cold nose pressed up against her foot, instantly waking her up. She tried to sit up, bt was gently pushed back down.

"Careful," said a clean-shaven, smiling man.

" Who are you?" the girl asked

"Will Treaty. I figured this wolf here was your wolf-dog or something- he kept following me and after shooting a few arrows near him I figured he was your dog. He just wouldn't leave!" Will said with a laugh.

"His name is Alyward," the girl said, snapping her fingers. Will watched with interest as Alyward slowly got up and padded over to her hand. "By the way, I'm Aella."

I see."

"Good boy," she said quietly as he pressed his cold, wet nose up against her hand. She slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Aella felt someone lift her up off of the bed, and was greeted by an unfamiliar face.

"Put me down!" she screamed while struggling.

"Hold still!"

"Alyward!" She heard a bark then a growl as he entered the room.

"Wait, I'm Will's friend!"

"Hold, Alyward," She ordered, and the wolf-dog hesitantly sat down.

"He asked me to move you into a different room," the man said just as Will burst through the door way.

"What's going on in here?"

"This man just startled me is all," she said as her eyes scanned the room. She saw that Will had a large knife- almost a short sword- drawn. Aella looked at the man carrying her.

"What's your name?"

"Horace Altman. And your's is?" He let the question hang in the air as he set her down on the bed

"Aella."

"How old are you?" he asked

"Sixteen."

" Where are you from?"

"And where," Will interrupted, "are your parents?"

"I'm from Hibernia and both of them died in a fire. I lived with an old man until five years ago,"

"What was his name?" Will persisted.

"I don't know, he always said names weren't important. However he was dressed like you." She was talking so quietly that even the attentive ranger ears couldn't make out her words.

Then she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclamer: I still don't own Ranger's Apprentice :(**

 **Thanks to WritersBlock-is-Lazyness for correcting my stories!**

Chapter 1

It had been a month since Aella had been found by Will. She had moved on with Alyward, and had started working at a small dirty inn. Although it didn't have the best reputation, there had been no work, and winter was closing in and she had no other way of obtaining shelter.

Aella walked towards a table holding three drinks for the men- for the second time that night- when one of them grabbed her by the waist, hauling her onto his lap. She had just managed to push herself from the guy's lap when another man grabbed the offender from the front of his vest.

"These men troubling you miss?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Aella said staring him straight in the eyes. She noticed that he had the exact same mottled gray green cloak that Halt and Will had worn.

"Leave the nice lady alone" he said dropping the man on the floor.

Just as he turned around to head back to his table the man on the floor got back up and reached for his knife. Without thinking, she let loose the small throwing knife that she kept underneath the sleeve of her dress, pinning his arm with the knife to a post. The Ranger spun around grabbing the man's wrists and handcuffing him.

"You are under arrest for attacking a King's Ranger," he said. After he had taken care of the man, he noticed that Aella- though he didn't know that that was her name- was being dragged off by the owner of the inn into the kitchen.

* * *

"What do you think you were doing!?" he yelled, spittle landing on Aella's cheek.

"I wasn't thinking, it was instinct-"

"Exactly! You weren't thinking!" he yelled, slapping her across the face. She could feel the sting of his hand, however pushed it aside.

"Do you know how many customers I could lose from that outburst! I'll be the laugh of the town!"

"You already are" she muttered. The inn keeper slapped her across the other side of her face, his nails slashing cuts into her cheeks.

"Leave my inn! After everything I have done for you, this is how you repay me? You are a disgrace!" He stormed out of the kitchen.

Aella quietly walked upstairs. A few of the other waitresses stared at her with pity in their eyes as the floorboards groaned quietly under her weight. As she entered her cold drafty room, Alyward stood up, staring at her intently.

"Come on boy, we need to find a new home," Aella said as she changed her tunic. She strapped her knifes onto her waist, then slung her brown cloak on, and as she gently picked up the longbow her former mentor-the old man she had lived with-had given her, she couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness over the loss of her mentor.

"Heel," she told Alyward as she left the small room.

The icy blast of a winter's night air greeted her as she headed outside.

"Come on boy let's head out into the forest, that's the most likely place we will find shelter

for tonight," she said, pushing against the snow and wind, heading towards the line of trees. By the time she had reached a good place to sleep, she was trudging through knee high snow. Aella dug a small dent in the snow to lay in.

"You know, you would probably be warmer in that inn."

Aella jumped, then replied back with, "I was fired."

"You need a place to stay," the man said. It was the man who had rescued her, however she wasn't going to be spending the night with a stranger.

"No."

"That wasn't a question." Well, he was wearing the same cloak as her mentor. She went to stand up but her legs gave way, causing her to all face first onto the snow. He hooked his arm around her stomach, hauling Aella's light frame up and setting her onto the back of his horse.

"Thanks," she said slowly drifting off into sleep.

* * *

The smell of bacon and coffee woke her up, and she looked around at the strange room until she remembered last night. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed causing Alyward to look up at her.

"Hello Alyward, sleep well?" He let a small woof of air in response. "Okay, let's go meet this stranger."

She walked out of the small bedroom right into the dining room.

"Good you're awake." She whipped around and saw a man on her right drinking coffee. He pushed a plate with bacon and eggs towards her.

"You should eat," he said.

"I really should be going though-" Aella tried to protest, however was quickly cut off.

"You should at least wait to give your leg a chance to recover fully. I noticed you were limping slightly out in the forest. Hiding your splint underneath you dress while you were in the inn was smart," he said

"And how would you know this?" Aella said, raising one of her eyebrows.

"I checked your leg to make sure you weren't injured after I saw you limping."

"Thanks, but I imposed on you long enough, I really should be going," Aella persisted.

"What's you name?" he asked.

"Aella, and your's is?" Aella asked

"Gilan"

Aella shrugged her pack in while thanking Gilan for the supplies he had given her, grateful that she had donned a pair of trousers and a jerkin last night.

"You sure you don't need any help? I know some people you could work for," Gilan tried again.

"I'm sorry Gilan, but I have to keep traveling back to Gallica," Aella replied, opening the door. With Alyward following her, she nodded at the man on the shaggy pony as she walked towards the forest,

"Hello Halt!" Gilan called out.

"Who was that?" Halt replied.

"A girl who helped me out at an inn. Come on in, the coffee's fresh," Gilan tried again to get Halt stay.

"I can't stay, Crowely wants you, Will, Horace, and I to take another mission,"

Halt said, shaking his head at his former apprentice's antics. Truthfully however, he found it kind- Although he'd never admit it.

"What's the mission?"

"Crowely has got a report from Clonmel, and apparently Ferris had a daughter with a maid. However, the mother died so the daughter left. Ever since Sean has become king, he has been looking for her, and he has asked us to look for a girl named Cecily O'Carrick."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aella trudged through the knee deep snow, pulling her brown cloak tighter as she pushed east towards Hibernia. One thought was ringing through her head. 'The Rangers will find out soon.'

"This is going to be a long trip if we don't get a horse soon," she said, breaking her self out of her worried thoughts. She scanned around the countryside for a farm. In the distance there was a small barn set a little ways from the farmhouse.

"There's bound to be a horse on that farm over there." Alyward let out a quiet bark in agreement. Once they had approached the barn, Aella gently eased open the door, wincing as it squealed. There was a young bay gelding that turned his head to stare curiously at the small figure.

"Hey boy, how are you?" Aella whispered quietly as she walked towards where the horse gear was hung. She carefully selected a saddle, blanket, and bridle, gently setting them on the edge of the stall while she started putting the bridle on the gelding. The horse stayed still as Aella put the tack on, listening intently as she quietly talked to him. When the saddle was put on his back, he sucked in a giant breath.

"You thought you could get away with that" she said knuckling his stomach good-humoredly until he let out the breath of air. As Aella left she put a gold piece on the small wooden piece where the tack had been hung.

"That should pay for everything."

The young gelding plodded along side of Aella as she lead him back to the trail to where Alyward was sitting.

'Took you long enough!' Alyward said.

"Sorry boy, I didn't want the farmer to spot us," Aella said as she mounted the horse. "At least we should travel faster!" She then nudged the horse into walk.

* * *

It had been two hours since they found the horse, three from Gilan's house. Everyone had their heads down, for a sharp, cold breeze was blowing fiercely, chilling the three to the bone. Aella would occasionally dismount to give the horse a break or let Alyward ride instead of her. Coughing, she bent over.

'We need to rest before you catch your death of cold,' Alyward said.

"There should be an inn a few miles up, we need to make some ground before we can rest." Aella laughed at him as he fell into a snow ditch with only his head above the snow.

'Laugh it up, you might end up falling in too.'

By the time they reached the inn, their breath was ragged and the wind cut through their warm layers of clothes. Aella pushed open the door to the Arrow's inn, as the sign by the road stated it was called. The warmth flooded her all at once.

"Excuse me sir," she said walking to the bar where the innkeeper was. "Do you have room for me and my horse?"

He looked up, smiling as he did. "Of course, young lady. I'm assuming you'll want a hot meal too?"

She nodded her head eagerly and said, "yes please! Can I go take care of my horse though?" Aella asked, remembering the poor gelding she had left tied to the post. The innkeeper nodded.

" The stables are behind the inn," he said.

"Thank you sir," Aella replied earnestly.

* * *

When Aella walked back into the inn she sat down at the booth, smiling as the innkeepers wife set the bowl of lamb stew and the slab of bread in front of her.

"Thank you ma'am," she said politely. The woman smiled at her, the girl seemed nice enough.

"That poor dog of yours must be hungry. Let me go grab a bowl of broth for him."

'Now that is service. You could learn a few things from her,' Alyward said, smiling a doggy smile.

Aella snorted and said quietly "you wish." As the older woman sat the food down, Aella handed her a gold coin. "Will this cover everything?"

"Miss! This covers a full week!" She cried.

"You and your husband deserve it," Aella said smiling.

"Many thanks miss!"

The door opened just as the innkeeper's wife had walked away. Aella turned her head to look at the new arrivals. Then, her face paled at the sight of who it was.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I think you all get the jest?

 **Announcements:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed this book, I'm sorry for the late post, but have been in the hospital for most of the week.

I would like to dedicate this chapter to all the people who were either injuered or kill at the terrosit attack in the UK.

* * *

"So how are we going to find this girl?" Gilan asked. "Sean said that the last place she was reported to be was close to a village called Sildberg in Clonmel."

"How long ago was that?" Will inquired.

"As far as we know around six months ago," Halt answered. Gilan whistled.

"Well that trail is a little cold."

"I have my own theory," Halt said, "if this is like when I ran off. Cecily probably doesn't have a lot of money, so the most logical place to have gone is Araluen."

"But Halt, wouldn't someone recognize her?" Horace asked

"Not it she was the daughter of a maid."

"So where is our best option to look for her?" Will asked.

"My guess is that she would head back to Clonmel, after hearing of Ferris's death," Halt said.

* * *

The Rangers and knight busily packed everything that they would need for the five day journey to Clonmel.

"So what if we can't find Cecily?" Horace asked, stating the question on everyone's mind.

"Then we keep looking until we're called back." Halt replied. He couldn't believe his brother! Ferris had a daughter out of wedlock and threw both the mother and child away. That was low, even for Ferris. Halt slung his saddle over Abelard, tightening the girth strap and gently setting his supplies behind the saddle.

The small group set out just before noon, it was slow going through the snow. This was't the best weather to be traveling long distances in, but the sturdy little Ranger horses and the strong battle horse were bred to go long distances.

"Do we know what Cecily looks like?" Horace asked. Halt frowned.

"I don't think so, but even so we should take another look at those documents when arrive at the inn," he said.

"Well let's just hope they have some description, otherwise it might be near impossible to find her," Will said. Halt turned to look Will in the eye.

"We will find a way."

By the time they reached the Arrow's inn the sun had sunk below the horizon, allowing the cold winter wind to blast against their face without the mercy of the warm sun. They had put their horses in the stable behind the inn after asking the innkeeper for room and board. A small brown cloaked figure turned to look at them as they entered the room. Halt could see the figure was shivering from the cold. The group of four headed to a table in the back corner. A waitress carefully set down the bowls of lamb stew, before she could head back to grab the slices of bread Will asked her, "would you mind bringing some coffee with honey if you have it?"

"Of course sir."

* * *

The inn rooms were kept well clean and warm. The four companions gathered in the one room that they had rented, discussing their plan.

"So I figured," Halt said, "that if we continue down this path towards Clonmel, we should be able to find more information from inns and maybe the taverns."

"Do we have any sources that would let us know if Cecily is in a different place?" asked Gilan.

"Sean has sent scouts in different corners to keep an eye out," said Halt, "we're best off traveling to castle Clonmel and meeting with Sean, but for now let's get some shut eye." He said standing up and stretching.

Everyone mumbled their agreement, going to their respective beds.


	5. Chapter 4

Aella hurriedly wolfed down her soup, trying to avoid the three rangers and their companion. She stood up, thanking the innkeeper for the meal, and headed up the stairs to the room with Alyward at her heels.

The room was small, with one bed, a window, and a rug that covered the entrance by the door.

"What do you think boy?" She said, gently ruffling his fur. "It looks nice enough. Yeah, a shame we can't stay in it for very long."

Alyward cocked his head curiously.

"We have to keep covering the ground to Clonmel before anyone finds out," she explained to her dog

'Why?'

"You know we have to find Sir," Aella said knowing it was very unlikely that they would ever find her old mentor. "Plus, I think that maybe the Rangers caught wind of us. We don't want a run in with them."

'What time do we leave?'

"As soon as possible." Alyward replied by flopping on his side with a puff a air.

Aella's grin was quickly removed as she bent forward, grabbing the bedpost as a cough wracked through her body. Aella sat there for a few seconds as if waiting to see if there were any more body-shaking coughs, then patted Alyward on the head and too off her boots. She leaned back until she was flat on the bed. Aella quickly rolled onto her elbow as she began another fit of coughing. This pattern continued long into the night, preventing her from the much needed sleep.

* * *

By the time it was dawn Aella looked horrible, here eyes were bloodshot and contained heavy bags underneath them. She slowly rolled up, out of bed, slipping on her boots, not wishing to leave the warm comfort of the bed.

"Come on boy," she said gently nudging hime with her boot, "time to get up." Alyward yawned standing up and stretching with his front paws in front as his backend went up. Aella yawned as well. Her throat felt like it was ripping apart, it was that sore. As she dressed and packed the pain worsened.

"Let's go, Alyward, let's head downstairs." The door creaked quietly as Aella opened it into the hallway of the top floor of the inn. The smell of porridge greeted her nose was she headed down the stairs anticipating the warm meal.

"Hello," greeted the warm wife of the innkeeper. "What can I do for you?"

"Could I have some of that delicious smelling porridge?" Aella's voice came out scratchy and raw.

"Of course dear, sounds like you're a bit sick. You could use it," she said.

"Yah, I'm afraid traveling last night did no goo," Aella admitted.

"Oh you poor dear! Stay here while I get you some herbs and food," She said, hurrying off to the kitchen.

The sound of more people heading towards the stairs startled Aella. Standing up quickly but quietly, she walked out the door into the stable yard and saddled up the gelding who was happily munching on his breakfast of oats.

"Sorry but, we have to hurry," she said a bit reluctantly, gently leading him out and mounting the disappointed horse. She understood- she'd been looking forwards to the porridge the innkeeper's wife had offered.

They plodded down the snowy road. Aella stomach growled.

"I guess we should have eaten beforehand, Alyward." He just looked up at her with big blue eyes.

'True, but you could do with a little less. Getting a bit chubby!' Her mouth fell open as she tried to aim an unsuccessful, playful kick at him.

"Why you little—-!" The horse snorted surprised by her sudden movement. "Sorry boy, I didn't mean to startle you," Aella said, patting him on the neck as she settled with glaring at Alyward.


	6. Chapter 5

When I started the Forgotten Apprentice, I full planned on finishing it. However, school takes first priority, and with my boyfriend recently dying and struggles with my health, I find it hard to continue this story. I have lost the passion that I once had for writing, so I am giving the Forgotten Apprentice up to someone else with my former passion. Just message me and I can give the plan I had and the few chapters that I wrote. Thank you for sticking around.


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